He faced 52 dot balls and took 81 deliveries to score his half century.
Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar questioned whether Babar Azam’s slow innings against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy opener was due to a lack of intent or ability.
Babar Azam struggled to find momentum in Pakistan’s run chase against New Zealand, scoring 64 runs off 90 balls with a strike rate of 71.1. He faced 52 dot balls and took 81 deliveries to score his half century, scoring only six boundaries and one six. His defensive strategy put pressure on the team as the required run rate continued to rise.
Pakistan required a solid start while pursuing 321, but they could muster only 22 runs in the powerplay, one of the lowest in Champions Trophy history. Fakhar Zaman could not open as there was an injury issue, so Babar was tasked with setting the tone but could not increase the tempo, and he came under fire for his sluggish innings.
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Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar criticized Babar Azam’s lack of intent in the first match, questioning whether Pakistan’s struggles were due to their approach or a deeper issue with their overall ability. He suggested that while intent can be adjusted, a lack of skill would be a much bigger problem to fix.
“Babar Azam clearly showed poor intent in the first game. But in the next couple of matches we will know if intent is an issue with Pakistan or inherent ability. If it’s ability then that can’t be easily resolved,” Manjrekar said.
Ashwin compared Babar Azam’s slow innings and Salman Ali Agha’s aggressive batting to the classic “Tortoise and Rabbit” story, highlighting their contrasting approaches.
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